Old Eyes, Grey Souls

Veterans are often heard to say "You wouldn't understand: you haven't been there " What are these images and memories that can be so misunderstood? Through poems that explore a veteran's soul, you are shown what these veterans wish family and friends could understand. Wars have colors, smells and images which can be both quickly and involuntarily summoned. To remember brings personal pain but to forget betrays wounded and dead fellow soldiers. These small groups of tormented people shape our world even though most people never know them. Bill Black grew up in communities of veterans from the theaters of war in World Wars I and II and Korea. He and his friends became the veterans of the wars in Vietnam and its following wars. He has watched the gradual recognition of some war caused diseases and disabilities and seen the more advanced models of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder replace "shell shock" and "combat fatigue." He has also seen the declining percentage of the population made of veterans and their families. His writings tell these stories. In ways that other written word methods cannot do, these poems can take the reader into the soldier's mind in a sometimes unpleasant trip. Read with care